Method and system for providing an intelligent switch for bandwidth management in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the invention provide a system and method for bandwidth management in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network. A method for bandwidth management in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network may include receiving from a first access point and/or a first switch, a first messaging protocol message for establishing a communication session. Responsive to the first messaging protocol message, an available communication bandwidth is determined for at least a portion of the hybrid wired/wireless local area network and bandwidth is allocated to accommodate the communication session. The first access point may be notified of the allocation of bandwidth using a second messaging protocol message. The first messaging protocol message may be received by a second switch and/or a second access point. Bandwidth usage information may be requested from the first access point and/or the first switch using the first messaging protocol message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/658,725, entitled “Method and System for Providing an IntelligentSwitch for Bandwidth Management in a Hybrid Wired/Wireless Local AreaNetwork,” filed on Sep. 9, 2003, which makes reference to, claimspriority to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/433,117 entitled “Method and System forProviding an Intelligent Switch for Bandwidth Management in a HybridWired/Wireless Network” filed on Dec. 13, 2002; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/411,261 entitled “Communications SystemsSoftware and Protocols” filed on Sep. 17, 2002; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/411,301 entitled “Method and System forProviding a Scalable Integrated Switch and Wireless Architecture” filedon Sep. 17, 2002; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/435,984entitled “Communication System and Method in a Wireless Local AreaNetwork” filed on Dec. 20, 2002.

The above stated applications are all incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present application relate generally to local areanetworks, and more particularly to a switching system and method forproviding bandwidth management in a hybrid wired/wireless local areanetwork (WLAN).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model promulgated by theInternational standards organization (ISO) was developed to establishstandardization for linking heterogeneous computer and communicationsystems. The OSI model describes the flow of information from a softwareapplication of a first computer system to a software application of asecond computer system through a network medium. FIG. 1 a is a blockdiagram 100 of the OSI model. Referring to FIG. 1 a, the OSI model hasseven distinct functional layers including layer 7, an application layer114; layer 6, a presentation layer 112; layer 5, a session layer 110;layer 4, a transport layer 108, layer 3, a network layer 106; layer 2: adata link layer 104; and layer 1, a physical layer 102. The physicallayer 102 may further include a physical layer convergence procedure(PLOP) sublayer 102 b and a physical media dependent sublayer 102 a. Thedata link layer 104 may also include a Medium access control (MAC) layer104 a.

In general, each OSI layer describes certain tasks which are necessaryfor facilitating the transfer of information through interfacing layersand ultimately through the network. Notwithstanding, the OSI model doesnot describe any particular implementation of the various layers. OSIlayers 1 to 4 generally handle network control and data transmission andreception, generally referred to as end-to-end network services. Layers5 to 7 handle application issues, generally referred to as applicationservices. Specific functions of each layer may vary depending on factorssuch as protocol and/or interface requirements or specifications thatare necessary for implementation of a particular layer. For example, theEthernet protocol may provide collision detection and carrier sensing inthe physical layer. Layer 1, the physical layer 102, is responsible forhandling all electrical, optical, opto-electrical and mechanicalrequirements for interfacing to the communication media. Notably, thephysical layer 102 may facilitate the transfer of electrical signalsrepresenting an information bitstream. The physical layer 102 may alsoprovide services such as, encoding, decoding, synchronization, clockdata recovery, and transmission and reception of bit streams.

The PLCP layer 102 b may be configured to adapt and map servicesprovided by the physical layer 102 to the functions provided by thedevice specific PMD sublayer 102 a. Specifically, the PLCP layer 102 bmay be adapted to map PHY sublayer service data units (PDSUs) into asuitable packet and/or framing format necessary for providingcommunication services between two or more entities communicating viathe physical medium. The PMD layer 102 a specifies the actualmethodology and/or protocols which may be used for receiving andtransmitting via the physical medium. The MAC sublayer 104 a may beadapted to provide, for example, any necessary drivers which may beutilized to access the functions and services provided by the PLOPsublayer 102 b. Accordingly, higher layer services may be adapted toutilize the services provided by the MAC sublayer 104 a with little orno dependence on the PMD sublayer 102 a.

802.11 is a suite of specifications promulgated by the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which provide communicationstandards for the MAC and physical (PHY) layer of the OSI model. The801.11 standard also provides communication standards for wired andwireless local area networks (WLANs). More specifically, the 802.11standard specifies five (5) types of physical layers for WLANs. Theseinclude, frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS), direct sequencespread spectrum (DSSS), infrared (IR) communication, high rate directsequence spread spectrum spread spectrum (HR-DSS) and orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The 802.11 standard alsoprovides a PLOP frame format for each of the specified PHY layers.

Over the past decade, demands for higher data rates to supportapplications such as streaming audio and streaming video, have seenEthernet speeds being increased from about 1-2 megabit per second(Mbps), to 10 Mbps, to 100 Mbps, to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) to 10Gbps. Currently, there are a number of standards in the suite ofspecifications, namely 802.11 b, 802.11 a and 802.11 g which have beenadapted to facilitate the demands for increased data rates. The 802.11 gstandard for example, provides a maximum data rate of about 54 Mbps at atransmitter/receiver range of 19 meters (m) in a frequency range of 2.4GHz to 2.4835 GHz. The 802.11b standard for example, provides a maximumdata rate of about 11 Mbps at a transmitter/receiver range of 57 meters(m) in a frequency range of 2.4 GHz to 2.4835 GHz. Finally, the 802.11 astandard for example, may be adapted to provide a maximum data rate ofabout 54 Mbps at a transmitter/receiver range of 12 meters (m) in a 300MHz segmented bandwidth ranging from 5.150 GHz to 5.350 GHz and from5.725 GHz to 5.825 GHz.

The 802.11 standard forms the basis of the other standards in the suiteof specifications, and the 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g standardsprovide various enhancements and new features to their predecessorstandards. Notwithstanding, there are certain elementary building blocksthat are common to all the standards in the suite of specifications. Forexample, all the standards in the suite of specifications utilize theEthernet protocol and utilize carrier sense multiple access withcollision avoidance (CSMA/CA).

CSMA/CA utilizes a simple negotiation scheme to permit access to acommunication medium. If a transmitting entity wishes to transmitinformation to a receiving entity, the transmitting entity may sense thecommunication medium for communication traffic. In a case where thecommunication medium is busy, the transmitting entity may desist frommaking a transmission and attempt transmission at a subsequent time. Ina case where the communication transmission is not busy, then thetransmitting entity may send information over the communication medium.Notwithstanding, there may be a case where two or more transmissionentities sense that the communication medium is not busy and attempttransmission at the same instant. To avoid collisions andretransmissions, a CSMA/OA or ready to send (RTS) and clear to send(CTS) messaging scheme may be employed, for example. Accordingly,whenever a transmitting device senses that the communication medium isnot busy, then the transmitting device may send a ready to send messageto one or more receiving device. Subsequent to the receipt of the readyto send message, the receiving device may send a clear to send message.Upon receipt of the clear to send message by the transmitting device,the transmitting device may initiate transfer of data to the receivingdevice. Upon receiving packets or frames from the transmitting device,the receiving device may acknowledge the received frames.

The 802.11b standard, commonly called Wi-Fi, which represents wirelessfidelity, is backward compatible with its predecessor standard 802.11.Although 802.11 utilizes one of two modulation formats including directsequence spread spectrum (DSS) using differential binary phase shiftkeying and frequency hopping spread spectrum (11-bit Barker sequence),802.11b utilizes a higher data rate form of DSS called complementarycode keying (CCK). CCK permits higher data rate and particularly lesssusceptible to interference effects such as multipath-propagationinterference, the PSK.

802.11a utilizes orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)modulation/encoding scheme, which provides a maximum data rate 54 Mbps.Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing is a digital modulationtechnique which splits a signal into several narrowband channels, witheach channel having a different frequency. Each narrowband channel isarranged so as to minimize the effects of crosstalk between the channelsand symbols in the data stream.

Since equipment designed to provide support for 802.11a operates atfrequencies in the ranges 5.150 GHz to 5.350 GHz and from 5.725 GHz to5.825 GHz, 802.11a equipment will not interoperate with equipmentdesigned to operate with the 802.11b standard which defines operation inthe 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz frequency band. One major drawback is thatcompanies that have invested in 802.11b equipment and infrastructure maynot readily upgrade their network without significant expenditure.

The 802.11g standard was developed as an extension to 802.11b standard.The 802.11g standard may utilize a similar OFDM modulation scheme as the802.11a standard and delivers speeds comparable with the 802.11astandard. Since 802.11g compatible equipment operates in the sameportion of the electromagnetic spectrum as 802.11b compatible equipment,802.11g is backwards compatible with existing 802.11b WLANinfrastructures. Due to backward compatibility of 802.11g with 802.11b,it would be desirable to have an 802.11b compliant radio card capable ofinterfacing directly with an 802.11g compliant access point and also an802.11g compliant radio card capable of interfacing directly with an802.11 b compliant access point.

Furthermore although 802.11g compatible equipment operates in the 2.4GHz to 2.4835 GHz frequency range, a typical transmitted signal utilizesa bandwidth of approximately 22 MHz, about a third or 30% of the totalallocated bandwidth. This limits the number of non-overlapping channelsutilized by an 802.11g access point to three (3). A similar scenarioexists with 802.11b. Accordingly, many of the channel assignment andfrequency reuse schemes associated with the 802.11b standard may beinherent in the 802.11g.

RF interference may pose additional operational problems with 802.11band 802.11g equipment designed to operate in the 2.4 GHz portion of theelectromagnetic spectrum. The 2.4 GHz portion of the spectrum is anunlicensed region which has been utilized for some time and is crowdedwith potential interfering devices. Some of these devices includecordless telephone, microwave ovens, intercom systems and baby monitors.Other potential interfering devices may be Bluetooth devices.Accordingly, interference poses interference problems with the 802.11band 802.11g standards.

802.11a compatible equipment utilizes eight non-overlapping channels, ascompared to three non-overlapping channels utilized by 802.11b.Accordingly, 802.11a access points may be deployed in a more densemanner than, for example 802.11b compatible equipment. For example, upto twelve access points each having a different assigned frequency maybe deployed in a given area without causing co-channel interference.Consequently, 802.11a may be particularly useful in overcoming some ofthe problems associated with channel assignment, especially in areasthat may have a dense user population and where increased throughput maybe critical. Notwithstanding, the higher operating frequency of 802.11acauses more attenuation resulting in a shorter operating range at agiven data rate. This may significantly increase deployment cost since alarger number of access points are required to service a given servicearea.

In hybrid wired/wireless network systems that may utilize one or moreprotocols in the 802.11 suite of protocols, the mobility of accessdevices throughout the network may pose additional challenges forconventional switches and switching equipment. Since access devices arecontinuously changing their point of access to the network, conventionalswitches may not have the capability to control other network devicesand/or entities to provide seamless communication throughout thenetwork. Allocation and de-allocation of certain network resources canbe challenging in a continuously changing network. Moreover,particularly in network systems that may handle large volumes of accessdevice traffic, conventional switching and signaling may consumesignificant amounts of system resources and this may reduce the amountof available system resources, thereby effectively reducing systemthroughput and performance.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the invention provide a system and method for bandwidthmanagement in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network. A method forbandwidth management in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network mayinclude receiving from a first access point and/or a first switch, afirst messaging protocol message for establishing a communicationsession. Responsive to the first messaging protocol message, determiningan available communication bandwidth for at least a portion of thehybrid wired/wireless local area network and allocating bandwidth toaccommodate the communication session. The first access point may benotified of the allocation of bandwidth using a second messagingprotocol message. The first messaging protocol message may be receivedby a second switch and/or a second access point. Bandwidth usageinformation may be requested from the first access point and/or thefirst switch using the first messaging protocol message.

The allocated bandwidth may be de-allocated using a third messagingprotocol message upon termination of the established communicationsession. The third messaging protocol message may be sent from thesecond switch and/or the second access point to the first switch and/orthe first access point. Bandwidth information may be received from atleast one of a quality of service management process, a load balancingmanagement process, a session control process, and a network managementprocess using a fourth messaging protocol message. The bandwidthinformation may be requested from any one or more of the quality ofservice management process, the load balancing management process, thesession control process, and the network management process using afifth messaging protocol message. The first, second, third, fourth andfifth messaging protocol messages may be at least one of an access pointstatus message, access point configuration message, a switch statusmessage, a switch configuration message, a client status message and adevice discovery message.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine-readablestorage, having stored thereon a computer program having at least onecode section for providing bandwidth management for a switch in a hybridwired/wireless local area network, where the at least one code sectionis executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the stepsdescribed above.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a system for bandwidthmanagement in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network. The system mayinclude a receiver adapted to receive from a first access point and/or afirst switch, a first messaging protocol message for establishing acommunication session. One or more controllers may be adapted todetermine an available communication bandwidth for at least a portion ofthe hybrid wired/wireless local area network. At least one of thecontrollers may determine the available bandwidth in response to thefirst messaging protocol message. Additionally, at least one of thecontrollers may be adapted to allocate bandwidth to accommodate thecommunication session and/or notify the access point of the allocatedbandwidth using a second messaging protocol message.

The receiver may be further adapted to receive the first messagingprotocol message by the second switch and/or a second access point. Atleast one of the controllers may be adapted to request bandwidth usageinformation from the first access point and/or the first switch using afirst messaging protocol message. One or more of the controllers may beadapted to de-allocate the allocated bandwidth using a third messagingprotocol message subsequent to termination of the establishedcommunication session. The third messaging protocol message may be sentfrom the second switch and/or the second access point to at least one ofthe first switch and the first access point by one or more of thecontrollers.

The receiver may be adapted to receive bandwidth information from anyone or more of a quality of service management process, a load balancingmanagement process, a session control process, and a network managementprocess using a fourth messaging protocol message. At least onecontroller may be adapted to request the bandwidth information from thequality of service management process, the load balancing managementprocess, the session control process, and the network management processusing a fifth messaging protocol message. The first, second, third,fourth and fifth messaging protocol messages may be any one or more ofan access point status message, access point configuration message, aswitch status message, a switch configuration message, a client statusmessage and a device discovery message. The may be a bandwidthmanagement controller, a quality of service controller at least onecontroller, a load balancing controller a session controller and anetwork management controller.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a is a block diagram of the OSI model.

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram illustrating a general PLOP frame as definedby 802.11.

FIG. 1 c is a block diagram illustrating a PLOP frame utilized byfrequency hopping spread spectrum as defined by 802.11.

FIG. 1 d is a block diagram illustrating a PLOP frame for directsequence spread spectrum and high rate direct sequence spread spectrumas defined by 802.11.

FIG. 1 e is a block diagram illustrating a PLOP frame for orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing as defined by 802.11.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for network managementin a wireless local area network in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary Enterprise Wireless LAN havingswitches serving as the edge managers in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary switch as illustrated in FIG.2 and FIG. 3 in accordance with an aspect of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary switching system for bandwidthmanagement in a wireless local area network in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary session control process asdescribed in FIG. 8 that may be utilized by the switching system forbandwidth management in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary load balancing process asdescribed in FIG. 8 that may be utilized by the switching system forbandwidth management in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary QoS enabling process asdescribed in FIG. 8 that may be utilized by the switching system forbandwidth management in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the invention provide a system and method for bandwidthmanagement in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network. A method forbandwidth management in a hybrid wired/wireless local area network mayinclude receiving from a first access point and/or a first switch, afirst messaging protocol message for establishing a communicationsession. Responsive to the first messaging protocol message, anavailable communication bandwidth is determined for at least a portionof the hybrid wired/wireless local area network and bandwidth isallocated to accommodate the communication session. The first accesspoint may be notified of the allocation of bandwidth using a secondmessaging protocol message. The first messaging protocol message may bereceived by a second switch and/or a second access point. Bandwidthusage information may be requested from the first access point and/orthe first switch using the first messaging protocol message.

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram 120 illustrating a general PLCP frame asdefined by 802.11. Referring to FIG. 1 b, there is shown preamble 122,PLCP header 124, MAC data 126, and CRC 128. Preamble 122 may includesynchronization (SYNC) data 122 a and synchronization delimiter 122 b.The PLCP header 124 may include, for example PLCP signal field (PSF) 124a, service data 124 b, length 124 c and other fields. The preamble 122may be dependent on the PHY. The SYNC data 122 a may include a uniquebit stream that may be adapted to signal timing parameters such as thestart of a frame. The SYNC data 122 a is used for bit synchronizationand demodulation. The SYNC delimiter 122 b provides frame timinginformation and may be adapted to delimit the end of synchronizationinformation. The PLCP header 124 may be adapted to contain informationused for decoding the frame. For example, the PSF 124 a may be adaptedto include communication data rate information. The service data 124 bis generally reserved, but may be utilized to provide applicationspecific functionality. The length 124 c may be adapted to indicate thelength of the MAC data 126. In this regard, the length 124 c may beexpressed in terms of the time required to transmit the MAC data 126.

FIG. 1 c is a block diagram 130 illustrating a PLCP frame utilized byfrequency hopping spread spectrum as defined by 802.11. Referring toFIG. 1 c, there is shown a SYNC data 132, PLCP header 134 and PSDU 136.The PLCP header 134 may include, for example, PSDU length word (PLW) 134a, PLCP signaling field (PSF) 134 b, header error check field or CRC 134c and other fields. The PLW 134 a may specify the number of octetscontained in the PSDU 136. The PSF 134 be may be 4-bits in length andmay be used to denote the communication data rate.

FIG. 1 d is a block diagram 140 illustrating a PLCP frame for directsequence spread spectrum and high rate direct sequence spread spectrum(HR-DSS) as defined by 802.11. Referring to FIG. 1 d, there is shownpreamble 142, PLCP header 144 and MPDU 146. Preamble 142 may includesynchronization (SYNC) data 142 a and synchronization delimiter 142 b.The PLCP header 144 may include PLCP signal field (PSF) 144 a, servicedata 144 b, length 144 c, and CRC field 144 d. The SYNC data 142 a maybe 128 bits as compared to 8 bits for SYNC data 132 a for frequencyhopping spread spectrum. The CRC 144 d is 16 bits, which is similar toCRC 134 c for frequency hopping spread spectrum.

FIG. 1 e is a block diagram 150 illustrating a PLCP frame for orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing as defined by 802.11. Referring to FIG.1 e, there is shown preamble 152, PLCP header 154 and PSDU 156, tail 158and pad 160. Preamble 152 may include synchronization (SYNC) data 152 aand synchronization delimiter 152 b. The PLCP header 154 may includelength 154 a, PLCP signal field (PSF) 154 b, reserved field 154 c,parity 154 d, tail 154 e and service 154 f. The length 154 a is a 12-bitfield that may be adapted to indicate the length of the frame. The PSF154 b is a 4-bit field that may indicate a modulation scheme utilizedand its associated coding rate of the PSDU. For example, thespecification utilizes binary 1011 to represent 6 Mbps, 1111 torepresent 9 Mbps, 1010 to represent 12 Mbps, 1110 to represent 18 Mbps,1001 to represent 24 Mbps, 1011 to represent 36 Mbps, 1000 to represent48 Mbps and finally, 1100 to represent the maximum standardized rate if54 Mbps. The reserved field 154 c is a 1 bit field that is reserved forfuture use and may be adapted for application specific use. The parityfield 154 d may indicate odd or even parity. The tail field 154 e is a6-bit field. The service field 154 f is a 16-bit field that may beadapted to indicate the type of service.

In a typical wireless local area network, especially as access devicesbecome mobile throughout the network, channel capacity may be rapidlytime varying. For example, when the distance from an access device to anaccess point increases or decreases due to mobility, the channelcapacity and ultimately the channel throughput may change with time. Inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention, a switch is provided tofacilitate communication between one or more of a plurality of accessdevices and/or access points, and/or other switches. The switch mayutilize a messaging protocol, which may be adapted to facilitate taskssuch as, switch filter transfer, bandwidth management, session controland management, load balancing and/or QoS control and management.

Referring to the task of bandwidth management, in a hybridwired/wireless LAN in which bandwidth usage may be rapidly changing overtime due to the mobility of access devices, the switch, in accordancewith an aspect of the invention, may be configured to perform bandwidthmanagement for a wired and/or a wireless portion of the network. Thetask of bandwidth management may involve performing one or moreactivities including, but not limited to, allocating and de-allocatingbandwidth, implementing policies, tracking bandwidth usage and adaptingbandwidth allocation to meet user demands and system capability. Themanagement of these activities may be directly or indirectly related toproviding mobility and operability throughout a wired or wireless LAN,or a hybrid combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for network managementin a wireless local area network in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a first networkingdomain 214 and a second networking domain 234. The first networkingdomain 214 may include a switch 202, and access points 204, 206, 208,210, 212. Each of access points 204, 206, 208, 210, 212 may be coupledto the switch 202. The second networking domain 234 may include a switch222, and access points 224, 226, 228, 230, 232. Each of access points224, 226, 208, 230, 232 may be coupled to the switch 222. Switch 222 maybe coupled to switch 202 through any one or more of a wired and awireless medium. Although not shown, at least some of the access pointsin any one of the networking domains 214, 234 may be coupled to eachother. Notwithstanding, a plurality of actual and/or virtual channelsmay be provided to facilitate communication with the access points andswitches. Although the networking domains 214 and 234 are illustrated asseparate networking entities, the invention is not so limited.Accordingly, the networking domain 214, 234 may be part of a singlenetworking entity, but may represent separate security domains withinthe single networking entity.

In operation, any one or more of the switches 202, 222 may be adapted tosend network management related information and parameters to any one ormore of the access points in any one or more of the networking domains214, 234. In one embodiment of the invention, for example, switch 202may be adapted to communicate bandwidth information to access point 206.Similarly, switch 202 may be adapted to send network management relatedinformation to any one or more of access points 204, 208, 210, 214.Similarly, switch 222 may be adapted to communicate network managementrelated information to any one or more of access points 224, 226, 228,230, 232. The bandwidth information and/or network management relatedinformation may be used by an access point to efficiently allocateand/or de-allocate bandwidth for associating and/or dissociating accessdevices.

In another aspect of the invention, the switches 202, 222 may be adaptedto provide, for example, certain QoS management activities to the accesspoints using for example a messaging protocol. Accordingly, someactivities such as bandwidth policing, bandwidth management, loadbalancing, roaming and handover may be handled by coordinating one ormore switches and one or more access points utilizing, for example, themessaging protocol. Notwithstanding, a switch for example, switch 222,may be configured to establish rules that may be adapted by the accesspoints 224, 226, 228, 230, 232 in carrying out these activities. Therules may be propagated from the switches 222, 202 to the access points204, 208, 210, 214, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232 using, for example, themessaging protocol. Prioritization and processing, for example, may bebased on acceptable levels of latency and bandwidth availability. Forexample, an IP telephone call may be assigned highest queuing andprocessing priority in order to minimize latency. Policing, for example,may include performing activities which may limit and control the usageof available bandwidth by a particular access device or a type of accessdevice. These and other tasks may be controlled by the switch using themessaging protocol. Although activities such as policing and QoSmanagement may be conducted independently of the bandwidth management,in accordance with an aspect of the invention, QoS management relatedinformation may be utilized for bandwidth management.

In operation, any one or more of the access points in any one or more ofthe networking domains may be adapted to acquire various bandwidthrelated information and parameters and communicate the bandwidth relatedinformation to one or more of the switches 202, 222. In one embodimentof the invention, for example, access point 206 may be adapted toacquire various bandwidth related information and communicate theacquired information back to the switch 202. Similarly, any one or moreof access points 204, 208, 210, 214 may acquire various bandwidthrelated information and parameters and communicate the acquiredinformation to switch 202. In another aspect of the invention, any oneor more of access points 224, 226, 228, 230, 232 may acquire variousbandwidth related information and parameters and communicate theacquired information to the switch 222.

In another embodiment of the invention, any one or more of access points224, 226, 228, 230, 232 may acquire various bandwidth relatedinformation and parameters and communicate the acquired information tothe switch 202 through switch 222. This may be particularly useful in,for example, a roaming scenario or handoff scenario. In both the roamingand handoff scenarios where a particular access device is roaming orbeing handed off from networking domain 234 to networking domain 214, itmay be advantageous to acquire bandwidth related information pertainingto networking domain 214 before permitting an access device to acquireservice from networking domain 214. In this case, switch 222 mayinitiate a query requesting bandwidth related information from switch202. Consequently, switch 222 may request bandwidth related informationfrom any one or more of access points 204, 206, 208, 210, 212. Onceswitch 202 gets the bandwidth related information from these accesspoints, it may communicate the information to the switch 222.Accordingly, the switch 222 may decide whether to handoff or permitroaming depending on the bandwidth related information received from theswitch 202.

Based on bandwidth related information received from one or more accessdevices or switches, a switch may be adapted to force an access deviceto roam. For example, in a case where the switch determines that theremay be insufficient bandwidth or channel capacity, then the switch maybe adapted to dynamically force existing and/or new incoming accessdevices to roam. In one aspect of the invention, a list of devices whichhave been forced to roam may be maintained. Accordingly, if a switchdetermines that there is sufficient channel capacity available, then theswitch may be adapted to signal or notify devices on the list toreattempt establishment of service and permit access to the serviceprovided by the network. In this regard, any one or more of the switches202, 222 may be adapted to determine the total available bandwidth forany one or more of a plurality of access points and/or switches.Accordingly, the switches 202 and/or 222 may provide channel/frequencymanagement and quality of service QoS management in order to optimizebandwidth utilization for a plurality of access devices.

In another embodiment of the invention, based on various bandwidthrelated information, an access prioritization scheme may be adapted andenforced by, for example, any one or more of the switches 202, 222. Theprioritization scheme may include, establishing a priority for allnetwork traffic, honoring prioritized traffic from all clients, and/orhonoring prioritized traffic from some select clients such as trustedclients. In another aspect of the invention, the switches 202, 222 maybe adapted to provide certain QoS management activities to the accesspoints. Accordingly, some activities such as bandwidth policing,bandwidth management, packet prioritization and processing, and servicetype queuing may be handled by an access point. Notwithstanding, aswitch may be adapted to establish rules that may be utilized by theaccess points in carrying out these activities. Prioritization andprocessing, for example, may be based on acceptable levels of latencyand bandwidth availability. For example, an IP telephone call may beassigned highest queuing and processing priority in order to minimizelatency. Policing, for example, may include tasks which limit andcontrol the usage of available bandwidth by a particular access deviceor a type of access device.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the switch may utilizethe messaging protocol (MP) to provide enhanced communication servicesto one or more of a plurality of access devices or mobile stations in,for example, an enterprise Wireless LAN (WLAN). The enhancedcommunication, in addition to ordinary WLAN device communication such asauthentication, authorization, key exchanges, beacon broadcast, etc.,may provide additional features not provided by a WLAN to its clients.These additional features may include, but are not limited to, bandwidthmanagement, access control, load balancing, network management andquality of service. In addition to switches, other enterprise WLANdevices that may utilize messaging protocol message transactions mayinclude but are not limited to, wireless access points, enterpriseswitches and wireless stations. These devices may be messaging protocolenabled in certain instances.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an exemplary WLANArchitecture may be provided. In the enterprise Wireless LANenvironment, the wireless devices may be located at the edge of thenetwork. The wireless devices may be connected or coupled to theenterprise network via the one or more access points, which in turn maybe the edge devices of, for example, a wired LAN. The access points maybe connected to the LAN via switches. These switches, which may becalled wireless LAN switches, and in certain instances, may not onlyperform Layer 2 switching, but may be adapted to function as a wirelessedge manager. They may also provide additional functionalities such asbandwidth management, access control, firewall functions, trafficprivacy and quality of service (QoS), network management, and loadbalancing.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 300 of an exemplary Enterprise Wireless LANhaving switches serving as the edge managers in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown, alocal area network (LAN) 302, authentication server 304, switches 306,308, access points (APs) 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320 and access devices322, 324, 326, 328, 330, 332, 334, 336, 338. It should be recognizedthat the invention is not limited to and Enterprise WLAN. The inventionmay be applicable to a wired LAN, a wireless LAN and any combinationthereof.

Wireless transmission or communication between the access devices orclients, and the access points may be secure. This may be also be truefor the wired connections between any of the access points 310, 312,314, 316, 318, 320 and the switches 306, 308. The switches 306, 308 andaccess points 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320 may be adapted to communicateusing, for example, an Ethernet protocol. From the switch's perspective,the switch may be switching regular layer 2 frames. However, within theswitch, knowledge of a WLAN and its management intelligence may resideprimarily in software. Notwithstanding, the invention is not limited inthis regard.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram 400 of an exemplary switch 402 as illustratedin FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 4, switch 402 may include a processor 410, transmitter404, receiver 406, generator 408 and controller 412. The controller 412may include bandwidth controller 422, QoS controller 414, load balancingcontroller 416, session controller 418 and network management controller420. The transmitter 404, receiver 406, generator 408 and the componentsof the controller 412, namely QoS controller 414, load balancingcontroller 416, session controller 418 and network management controller420, may be variously coupled to processor 410.

The components of switch 402 may include suitable circuitry and/orsoftware capable of implementing the various functions, including butnot limited to, bandwidth management, QoS management, load balancing,session management and control, and network management. Notwithstanding,although the components of the switch 402 are individually shown, theinvention is not limited in this regard. For example, with suitablesoftware and/or logic, the generator function 408 may be implementedsolely by the processor 422. Similarly, any one or more of the bandwidthmanagement, QoS management, load balancing, session management andcontrol, and network management may be integrated and with suitablelogic and/or software, may be executed by the processor 410.

In operation, the transmitter 404 may be adapted to send a firstmessaging protocol message between a first switch and a first accesspoint. The receiver 406 may be adapted to receive a second messagingprotocol message from the first access point and the first switch. Inresponse to the transmittal of the first messaging protocol message, asecond messaging protocol message may be received. The controller 412may be adapted to allocate bandwidth for one or more devices using anyone or more of the first second and/or third messaging protocolmessages. These devices may include but are not limited to the firstswitch, a second switch, the first access point, the second accesspoint, and one or more access devices.

The generator 408 may be adapted to generate the first messagingprotocol message by the first switch. The receiver 406 may be adapted toreceive the second messaging protocol message from a second switch. Theprocessor 410 may be adapted to control the transmitter 404, thereceiver 406, the controller 412 and the generator 408. The processor410 may utilize one or more messaging protocol messages to controltransmitter 404, receiver 406, generator 408, bandwidth controller 422,QoS controller 414, load balancing controller 416, session controller418 and network management controller 420.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the switch may be adaptedto facilitate bandwidth management by utilizing a messaging protocol.The messaging protocol may utilize one or more protocols associated witha device communication protocol (DCP) umbrella (DCPU). The messagingprotocol utilized by the switch may be adapted to run over thetransmission control protocol (TCP) or user datagram protocol (UDP)using for example, a well-known port number specified under theframework of the device communication protocol. Under the DCP umbrella,there may be several sub-protocols defined for the purpose offacilitating interoperability with other products. Some of theseproducts may include but are not limited to, cable modems and cablemodem termination systems (CMTS) equipment. The messaging protocolutilized by the switch may be adapted to include the necessary protocolsunder DCP to facilitate communication for wired and/or WLAN devices.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the switch may utilizethe messaging protocol to facilitate bandwidth management betweenvarious wireless networking devices and/or clients, and to facilitatebandwidth management the devices and/or clients. In an embodiment of theinvention, one or more of WLAN switches 306, 308 may be adapted toutilize the messaging protocol to facilitate communication with one ormore of the access points 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320 of FIG. 3.Information exchanged between these two devices may include, but is notlimited to, control, configuration and status information of the devicesand also client session information. At least some of this informationmay be used for bandwidth management. The control information mayinclude, for example, signaling information that may be communicatedin-band or out-of-band.

The switch may utilize the messaging protocol, which may include aplurality of message types. In accordance with an aspect of theinvention, the switch may utilize a messaging protocol that may include,for example, six (6) categories of messages or message types.Notwithstanding, the invention is not so limited. These messages andtheir usage may be illustrated as follows:

AP_Status: from AP to Switch or AP

An AP_Status message may be used to indicate, for example, an accesspoint capacity, bandwidth allocation, the number of attached clients,signal strength, power levels, etc.

AP_Config: from Switch to AP

An AP_Config message may be used to configure an access point toaccommodate a client. This may include but is not limited to, 802.11eQoS, security information, etc.

Switch_Status: from Switch to Switch

A Switch_Status message may be used to indicate a switch's associationwith one or more clients. This may include but is not limited to, clientsession information, access control, QoS parameters, etc.

Switch_Config: from Switch to Switch

A Switch_Config message may be used to configure a switch such as a WLANSwitch to accommodate a client. The may include but is not limited to,access control, QoS configuration, etc.

Client_Status: from AP to Switch

A Client_Status message may be used to indicate a client's information.This may include but is not limited to, client identification,associated MAC address, session status, connecting location, etc.

Device_Discovery: any device to any device

In a client-server model of network services, the Device_Discoverymessage may be used by a switch and/or a server to discover clients orby client to discover servers. The message may be broadcast to some orall devices in the subnet to draw responses from the intended devices.

In each of the message types above, the message may include, for examplefour (4) message subtypes—.request, .data, .alert, and .ack. A messagetype/subtype pair of .request and .data may represent the request ofdata and a corresponding response of data itself. The subtype pair of.alert and .ack may represent the voluntary transmission of data and itsacknowledgement. Additionally, there may be two conventions utilized ina message exchange sequence. Accordingly, if a message exchange sequencestarts with a request (.req), it may be followed by a reactivetransmission of data (.data). Similarly, if a message exchange sequencestarts with a proactive transmission of data (.alert), it is followed byan acknowledgement (.ack). In accordance with an aspect of theinvention, one or more message types and/or subtype may be used tofacilitate bandwidth management.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/607,094 entitled “CommunicationSystem and Method in a Hybrid Wired/Wireless Local Area Network” filedon Jun. 26, 2003, discloses a messaging protocol that may be utilized bythe switch in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, and isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Exemplary valid fieldsand subfields for various messaging protocol messages that may beutilized by the switch in accordance with an aspect of the invention aredisclosed therein. Additionally, U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/658,140 entitled “Method and System for Providing an IntelligentSwitch in a Hybrid Wired/Wireless Local Area Network” filed on Sep. 9,2003, discloses a messaging protocol that may be utilized by the switchin accordance with an embodiment of the invention, and is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. The switch disclosed therein may beadapted to utilize the messaging protocol to provide bandwidthmanagement in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

In another embodiment of the invention, the switch may include a networkmanagement controller that may be configured for network management andmay provide valuable information that may be utilized for bandwidthmanagement in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In thisregard, the switch may be adapted to utilize, for example, the messagingprotocol to transfer networking monitoring and/or status messages suchas SNMP and RMON statistics from an old attachment or connection pointto a new connection point. In this regard, the switch may be configuredto use the messaging protocol to enable location-specific management ofat least certain clients and/or network devices. In this regard, theswitch may send client association information to a central managemententity which may be aware of the location of the various access pointsand/or switches in the network. This information may be disseminated to,for example a bandwidth controller, a QoS controller and/or a loadbalancing controller. Accordingly, a decision may subsequently be madeto determine whether to allow or disallow access from certain locationsin order to maximize bandwidth usage, balance a load within the networkand/or provide a specified QoS.

For example, information pertaining to at least some detected clientsmay be transferred to the switch. Accordingly, a load balancing managerand/or controller located in the switch may use this information toachieve efficient load balancing. In this regard, the load balancingcontroller may include suitable circuitry and/or software that may beadapted to receive and assess various client information and effectuatean efficient load balancing. Parameters such as signal strength, accesslevel and device type, may be indicative of the information that may beused to effectuate efficient load balancing. Clientassociation/dissociation information may be communicated between theload balancing manager and one or more access points and/or switches.Once the load-balancing manager determines an optimal loadconfiguration, new client and/or access point association informationmay be passed to the various access points in the network usingmessaging protocol messages.

In another embodiment of the invention, the switch may include a QoScontroller that may be configured to utilize the messaging protocol totransfer QoS parameters from an original switch port to a new switchport, in order to facilitate roaming. One or more switches in thenetwork may be adapted to facilitate roaming between various accesspoints located in the same network or between different networks. Thismay affect the QoS handling of, for example, downstream traffic destinedfor the roaming client or access device. In this regard, a switch may beadapted to utilize one or more messaging protocol messages toautomatically transfer various pertinent network management parametersbetween access points and or other switches. This centralized mayeliminate a need for a distributed management interface, therebyproviding a more robust communication system.

In another embodiment of the invention, to facilitate roaming, a switchmay be adapted to utilize the messaging protocol to transfer QoSparameters from an old access point to a new access point. This mayaffect upstream traffic from the client to an access point. In thisregard, the switch may utilize one or more messaging protocol messagesto transfer QoS parameters from the old access point to the new accesspoint. Since this handling of QoS parameters may be similar to thehandling of client traffic, the messaging protocol may be used toprovide seamless roaming.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram 500 of an exemplary switching system forbandwidth management in a wireless local area network in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown aCPU block 502 and a switching fabric block 804. The CPU block 502 mayinclude a bandwidth management controller block 520, a quality ofservice (QoS) controller block 506, a load balancing controller block508, a session controller block 510 and a network management controlblock 512. The switching fabric block 504 may include a filtering engineblock 514. The CPU block 502 may be adapted to interface with theswitching fabric block 504. One or more of the QoS controller block 506,load balancing controller block 508, session controller block 510 andnetwork management control block 512 may interface directly with thefiltering engine block 514.

In operation, selected signaling packets may be communicated from theswitching fabric block 504 to one or more of the bandwidth managementcontroller block 520, QoS controller block 506, load balancingcontroller block 508, session controller block 510 and networkmanagement control block 512. Messaging protocol messages may be used tofacilitate communication between the switching fabric block 504 and oneor more of the bandwidth management controller block 520, QoS controllerblock 506, load balancing controller block 508, session controller block510 and network management control block 512. The selected signalingpackets may include, but are not limited to, VoIP packets, and streamingmedia packets including voice, video and data. The filtering engineblock 514 may be adapted to filter information received from one or moreof the bandwidth management controller block 520, QoS controller block506, load balancing controller block 508, session controller block 510and a network management control block 512. In this regard, thefiltering engine block 514 may be adapted to filter messaging protocolmessages used to control switching functions, network traffic statisticsmessages, layer two (2) address update messages, and filter updatemessages. The filter update messages may include, but are not limitedto, bandwidth management messages, access control messages, QoS messagesand load balancing messages.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the switching systemfor network management may include a session control process that may beadapted to manage and control at least one client database and sessioninformation for some or all active clients. In an embodiment of theinvention, the switching system for network management may be adapted toprovide session management information that may be utilized forbandwidth management. The session control process may be configured toenforce access control based on, for example, a client session, asubnet, a network management application, and switch ports. Accesscontrol may be used to facilitate, for example, bandwidth management andload balancing in at least a portion of the network. The session controlprocess may also control and manage switching intelligence and todetermine bandwidth availability in order to facilitate roaming.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram 600 of an exemplary session control process asdescribed in FIG. 5 that may be utilized by the switching system forbandwidth management in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a session control process 602 havinga client database 604, an access control list (ACL) database 606, asession control manager 608 and a VoIP enabler 610. One or moreinterfaces may be adapted to provide communication between sessionmanager 608 and the client database 604 and the ACL database 606. Thesession manager 608 may include at least one interface that may beadapted to facilitate communication with the VoIP enabler 610.

In operation, the session control manager 608 may be adapted to process,for example, messaging protocol messages, layer two (2) updates, andfilter updates. The session control manager 608 may be adapted toreceive information from one or more of client database 604 and ACLdatabase 606. The VoIP enabler 610 may be adapted to process VoIPsignaling packets. VoIP enabler 610 may also be adapted to decodevarious standards-based VoIP signaling packets and prioritize filtersetup. Information from the session control manager 608 may becommunicated to the bandwidth management controller 520, the QoScontroller 506, the load balancing controller 508, and the networkmanagement controller 512, which are illustrated in FIG. 5.

In an embodiment of the invention, the switching system 602 may includea load balancing process that may be adapted to obtain access point loadfrom, for example, a bandwidth management process and a networkmanagement process. The network management process may include but isnot limited to SNMP, RMON, RMON2, and MIB. The load balancing processmay be adapted to keep an access point database on, for example, aplurality or bank of access points. The load balancing process mayinclude intelligence for making load distribution decisions. The accesspoint database may be accessible by one or more of the bandwidthmanagement controller 520, the QoS controller 506, the load balancingcontroller 508, and the network management controller 512, which areillustrated in FIG. 5. In addition, the bandwidth management controller520 may be adapted to request information from the session controlmanager 608 and/or the load balancing process in order to facilitatebandwidth management.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 700 of an exemplary load balancing process asdescribed in FIG. 6 that may be utilized by the switching system fornetwork management in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a load balancing process 702 havingan access point database 702 and a load balancing manager 706. At leastone interface may be adapted to provide communication between accesspoint database 704 and the load balancing manager 706. The loadbalancing manager 706 may be adapted to include at least one interfacethat may facilitate communication with a network management process.

In operation, the load balancing manager 706 may be adapted to processmessaging protocol messages, layer two (2) updates, and filter updates.The load balancing manager 706 may receive network statistics from oneor more network management processes. Information from the access pointdatabase 704 may be utilized by the load balancing manager 706 formaking load balancing decisions.

In an embodiment of the invention, the switching system for networkmanagement may include a QoS enabling process that may be adapted tocontrol and manage activities such as, traffic policing, meteringfilters, and protocol configurations. In this regard, the QoS enablingprocess may be adapted to manage, for example, 802.11e basedconfigurations that may be sent to the access point. A VoIP enabler maybe adapted to decode various standard-based VoIP signaling packets andprioritize filter setup.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram 800 of an exemplary QoS enabling process asdescribed in FIG. 8 that may be utilized by an the switching system fornetwork management in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown QoS enabling process 802 having QoSpolicy database 804, a QoS manager 806 and a VoIP enabler 808. At leastone interface may be adapted to provide communication between QoS policydatabase 804 and the QoS manager 808. The QoS manager 806 may be adaptedto include at least one interface that may facilitate communicationwith, for example, the VoIP enabler 808.

In operation, the QoS manager 806 may be adapted to process, forexample, messaging protocol messages, and filter updates. The QoSmanager 806 may send and receive VoIP signaling information to and fromVoIP enabler 808 806 for making QoS related decisions. In certaininstances, information related to the QoS management may be utilized forbandwidth management. Accordingly, with reference to FIG. 4, thebandwidth management controller 412 may be adapted to receive pertinentQoS related information from the QoS controller 414.

In one aspect of the invention, the QoS controller 414, the loadbalancing controller 416, the session controller 418, the networkmanagement controller 420 and/or the bandwidth management controller 412may be adapted to transfer and/or store information in a database, forexample, database 424. In this regard, the QoS controller may be adaptedto store at least some of its related QoS related information indatabase 424. Accordingly, whenever a need arises, the bandwidthmanagement controller may access database 424 and retrieve any QoSrelated information that may be pertinent to bandwidth management.

In another aspect of the invention, in certain instances, the bandwidthmanagement controller 422 may be adapted to request required QoS relatedinformation from the QoS controller 414. To facilitate bandwidthmanagement, real-time information not necessarily located in thedatabase 424 may be requested from the QoS controller 414 whenever aneed arises. Additionally, through this mechanism, the QoS controller414 may be adapted to also request an receive related information fromany one or more of the load balancing controller 416, the sessioncontroller 418, the network management controller 420, the bandwidthmanagement controller 422 and/or the database 424. The bandwidthmanagement process may be executed in an adaptive manner and may occurin real-time.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, dependent on themodulation scheme utilized, one or more of the PLCP frames illustratedin FIG. 1 b, FIG. 1 c, FIG. 1 d and FIG. 1 e may be adapted to containinformation which may be utilized for providing communication inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. Additionally, thePLCP frames may be adapted to convey information for any one or more ofthe 801.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g modes of operation utilized by accesspoints and/or access devices in accordance the embodiments of theinvention.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in one computersystem, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spreadacross several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computersystem or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods describedherein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may bea general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, whenbeing loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that itcarries out the methods described herein.

The present invention also may be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

Notwithstanding, the invention and its inventive arrangements disclosedherein may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spiritor essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should be madeto the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, asindicating the scope of the invention. In this regard, the descriptionabove is intended by way of example only and is not intended to limitthe present invention in any way, except as set forth in the followingclaims.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for providing bandwidth management in a hybrid local areanetwork, the method comprising: receiving, by a network switch, a firstmessaging protocol message for establishing a communication session, thefirst messaging protocol message being received from a first accesspoint; responsive to the first messaging protocol message, determining,by the network switch, an available communication bandwidth for at leasta portion of the hybrid local area network; allocating bandwidth toaccommodate the communication session when sufficient communicationbandwidth is determined to be currently available; and notifying, by thenetwork switch, the first access point of the allocated bandwidth usinga second messaging protocol message to attempt establishment of thecommunication session.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising requesting bandwidth usage information from the first accesspoint using a second messaging protocol message.
 3. The method accordingto claim 2, further comprising de-allocating the allocated bandwidthusing at least a third messaging protocol message subsequent totermination of the established communication session.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising receiving bandwidth informationfrom at least one of a quality of service management process, a loadbalancing management process, a session control process, or a networkmanagement process using a fourth messaging protocol message.
 5. Themethod according to claim 4, further comprising requesting the bandwidthinformation from the quality of service management process, the loadbalancing management process, the session control process, or thenetwork management process using a fifth messaging protocol message. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein the first messaging protocolmessages comprises a message selected from the group consisting of anaccess point status message, access point configuration message, aswitch status message, a switch configuration message, a client statusmessage, and a device discovery message.
 7. A non-transitorymachine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer programhaving at least one code section for providing bandwidth management in ahybrid local area network, the at least one code section executable by amachine for causing the machine to perform: receiving, by a networkswitch, a first messaging protocol message for establishing acommunication session, the first messaging protocol message beingreceived from a first access point; responsive to the first messagingprotocol message, determining, by the network switch, an availablecommunication bandwidth for at least a portion of the hybrid local areanetwork; allocating bandwidth to accommodate the communication sessionwhen sufficient communication bandwidth is determined to be currentlyavailable; and notifying, by the network switch, the first access pointof the allocated bandwidth using a second messaging protocol message. 8.The non-transitory machine-readable storage according to claim 7,further comprising code for requesting bandwidth usage information fromthe first access point using a second messaging protocol message.
 9. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage according to claim 8, furthercomprising code for de-allocating the allocated bandwidth using at leasta third messaging protocol message subsequent to termination of theestablished communication session.
 10. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage according to claim 7, further comprising codefor receiving bandwidth information from at least one of a quality ofservice management process, a load balancing management process, asession control process, or a network management process using a fourthmessaging protocol message.
 11. The non-transitory machine-readablestorage according to claim 10, further comprising code for requestingthe bandwidth information from the quality of service managementprocess, the load balancing management process, the session controlprocess, or the network management process using a fifth messagingprotocol message.
 12. The non-transitory machine-readable storageaccording to claim 7, wherein the first messaging protocol messagescomprises a message selected from the group consisting of an accesspoint status message, access point configuration message, a switchstatus message, a switch configuration message, a client status message,and a device discovery message.
 13. A system for providing bandwidthmanagement in a hybrid local area network, the system comprising: areceiver adapted to receive from a first access point a first messagingprotocol message for establishing a communication session; at least onecontroller adapted to determine an available communication bandwidth forat least a portion of the hybrid local area network, responsive to thefirst messaging protocol message; the at least one controller adapted toallocate bandwidth to accommodate the communication session whensufficient communication bandwidth is determined to be currentlyavailable; and the at least one controller adapted to notify the firstaccess point of the allocated bandwidth using a second messagingprotocol message.
 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein thereceiver is further adapted to receive the first messaging protocolmessage by at least one of a second switch or a second access point. 15.The system according to claim 13, wherein the at least one controller isadapted to request bandwidth usage information from the first accesspoint using a second messaging protocol message.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the at least one controller is adapted tode-allocate the allocated bandwidth using at least a third messagingprotocol message subsequent to termination of the establishedcommunication session.
 17. The system according to claim 16, wherein theat least one controller is adapted to send the third messaging protocolmessage to the first access point.
 18. The system according to claim 13,wherein the receiver is adapted to receive bandwidth information from atleast one of a quality of service management process, a load balancingmanagement process, a session control process, or a network managementprocess using a fourth messaging protocol message.
 19. The systemaccording to claim 18, wherein the at least one controller is adapted torequest the bandwidth information from the quality of service managementprocess, the load balancing management process, the session controlprocess, or the network management process using a fifth messagingprotocol message.
 20. The system according to claim 13, wherein the atleast one controller is a bandwidth management controller, a quality ofservice controller, a load balancing controller, a session controller,or a network management controller.